Warren E. Burger

Warren Earl Burger (17 September 1907-25 June 1995) was Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court from 23 June 1969 to 26 September 1986, succeeding Earl Warren and preceding William Rehnquist. Burger was a staunch conservative and a supporter of the Republican Party, but his court delivered some liberal decisions on abortion, capital punishment, religious establishment, and school desegregation.

Biography
Warren Earl Burger was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on 17 September 1907, and he initially sold insurance during the day and studied law at night school. He went on to teach and practice law until appointed assistant US Attorney-General by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. In 1956, he became a Federal Appeal Court Justice and developed a reputation as hardline on crime, which led Richard Nixon to nominate him Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court in 1969, upon the retirement of Earl Warren. Despite his conservative image, he disappointed many on the right by consolidating Warren's court initiatives and opening the law to issues such as abortion, gender discrimination, affirmative action, and welfare rights. His influence was also critical in the decision during the Watergate scandal which forced Nixon to hand over tape recordings to congressional investigators. He retired in 1986, and William Rehnquist succeeded him. Burger died in Washington DC in 1995 at the age of 87.